1886: Coca-Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton – he mixed the multi-million pound brew at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.

1902: Mount Pelée erupted on the Caribbean island of Martinique. In three minutes, molten lava obliterated the town of St Pierre, incinerated ten square miles of countryside and killed more than 30,000 people.

1931: A group of leaders from Scottish industry, commerce, trade unions and local authorities convened a meeting in Edinburgh which resulted in the formation of the Scottish National Development Council.

1933: The secret of the treasure ship of Sutton Hoo began to be revealed when the owner of the land, near Ipswich, Suffolk, suggested experts should excavate the curiously-shaped burial mound in which it stood. Inside was found an 89ft-long Anglo-Saxon open ship with a burial chamber on deck full of magnificent treasure.

1933: The first execution by gas chamber in the United States was carried out in the state of Nevada.

1942: Naval battle of the Coral Sea ended. Although the United States lost the aircraft carrier Lexington, the battle was the first allied success in the Pacific, saving Australia from invasion.

1945: VE-Day. Victory came to Europe at one minute past midnight with the unconditional surrender of Germany.

1955: The European Cup for the football league champions of the respective nations was approved by Fifa.

1961: George Blake, British naval intelligence officer and Soviet spy, was jailed for 42 years, the longest sentence ever imposed in Britain.

1970: The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, was released.

1984: The Thames Barrier at Woolwich was officially opened.

1989: US space shuttle Atlantis glided out of orbit into safe landing in California’s Mojave Desert after four-day mission.

1990: Ferranti, now GEC Ferranti, clinched contract to supply radar system for European fighter project.

1991: Scientists said they had discovered the gene which determined the difference between the sexes.

1992: The government announced that MI5 would take over responsibility for intelligence against the IRA in mainland Britain.

1995: Two-thousand beacons blazed out across the UK in a climax of celebrations to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe.

2008: ITV was fined a record £5.68 million by Ofcom for abusing premium rate phone lines used in viewer competitions in shows like Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Gameshow Marathon and Soapstar Superstar.